Sign



Sept. 8, 1931. w. H. BABCOCK SIGN Filed Nov. 17, 1928 Patented Sept. 8, 1931 rarest series WADE H. BABCGGK, 01 CLEVELAND, OHIO SIGN Application filed November 17, 1928.

This invention relates to improvements in signs, and particularly to that class of signs used by chain stores or companies employing a number of signs of uniform character usu- 5 ally having raised letters thereon.

In maintaining these signs in a neat and attractive condition it has been necessary to repaint them at frequent intervals which necessitates the removal of such signs to the paint shops and the hanging of temporary signs in their places, or in painting out the sign and repainting the characters after the backing has dried. In either case a great deal of time and material are expended especially when the number of such signs is large.

The object of my invention is to provide a sign which may be kept in an attractive condition at all times and which it is unnecessary to take down or have out of repair for any appreciable length of time in renewing the letters or in the cleaning up of the background.

The invention consists in the novel features of construction and in the manner of combining or arranging the same, all of which will be fully described hereinafter and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings forming part of this case, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the sign ith letters in place; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the sign with the letters removed, and shown in their relative positions below, the first letter being reversed to show the attaching means; Fig. 3 is a sectional View on the line 33 of Fig. 4; and Fig. i is an enlarged view of the letter attaching means.

Describing by reference characters the va rious parts of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, 1 designates the panel mounted in the usual frame 2. To do away with the necessity of continually painting the panel, I make the same from sheet metal of sufficient thickness to be durable and not easily bent or flexed when it has been mounted in the frame, and coat the same prior Serial No. 320,043.

this panel in a clean and attractive condition is to wash the same. No subsequent painting of the panel is required.

The letters 5 may be out or molded from any suitable material, usually out from wood or molded from fibrous material sawdust, p aperstock or the like in known manner. The back of the letters are provided with headed members 6 preferably screws to permit of arrangement only the right letter or character can be put in any particular place on the panel and the particular spacing characteristic of that sign must be maintained.

As illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing only the letter C can be attached as the first letter of the sign shown. 0 also has its own arrangement of attaching means 6 so that only an O can be attached as the second letter of the sign and so on. For convenience in marking the panels with apertures in the arrangement desired for the particular characters, blanks may be provided each having aper tures in theiarrangement characteristic of that letter. These blanks may be used as a pattern for arranging the screws in the letters as well as for marking the panels.

To remove the letters or characters when the anel is to be cleaned. it is onl necessary to shift each letter upward until the screw head registers with the. large part of. the keyhole slot and lift the same from the panel. If the letters have become dull and are to be refinish d, other letters already refinished are put inplace as the .old ones are taken down, and the sign remains unaltered while the old letters are being refinished. These letters when refinished are then put in the next si 'n when the old ones are taken down, etc. l 1

By this arrangement the signs need never be out of repair for any length of time and the cost of keeping such signs in good order is reduced to a minimum.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a sign, a vitreous enamel panel member provided with apertures to receive headed members, and characters provided on their back face with headed members to be re ceived in the apertures in said panel, the head ed members being arranged in each character on the sign diiferently and the apertures in the panel being arranged to correspond with the headed members in the characters in the order they appear on said panel, whereby only like characters will fit in any one place on said panel.

,2. In a sign, a vitreous enamel panel member provided with keyhole slots to receive headed members, characters provided on their rear faces with headed members to be received in said keyhole slots in said panel, the headed members on the back of each char acter on the sign being arranged differently and the keyhole slots in the panel being arranged to correspond with the headed members in the back of the respective characters whereby only like characters will fit in any one place on said panel.

3. In a sign the combination of a vitreous enamel panel, having means for securing characters thereto, and characters having means cooperating with the aforementioned securing means for attaching said characters to said panel, the arrangement of said securing means in the panel and characters being such that only like characters may be secured in any one predetermined position on said panel.

4. In a sign, the combination of a vitreous enamel panel and readily detachable characters attached thereto in a predetermined arrangement, means for securing said characters to said panel, comprising members arranged on the back of each character, and co operating means on said panel, the arrangement of said securing means on each character being different whereby only like characters may be secured to said panel in any one predetermined position.

5. In a sign, a panel member provided with slots with enlarged portions to receive the heads of headed members, characters provided on their rear faces with headed members to be received in the slots, the headed members on the back of each character on the sign being arranged differently and the slots in the panel being arranged to correspond with the headed members on the back of the respective characters, whereby only like characters will fit in any one place on said panel.

6. In a sign, the combination of a panel member having means for attaching characters thereto, and characters having means cooperating with the aforementioned attachsignature.

IVADE I-I. BABCOCK. 

